Tag Archives: bouldering

I had some really good sentences to start this post with but they’ve disappeared from my head. I’m gonna blame the cold, which seems to be infiltrating everything lately, including my sanity, although oddly hasn’t actually stopped me getting out climbing on actual rock! Well, kinda.

This all stems from the fact that, wanting to make the most of her maternity time, Em decided to go visit family and friends for a week, leaving Tess and myself behind to fend for ourselves. I think it was at the point she first mentioned it that i wondered what the weather would be like…

It turned out to, somewhat miraculously, be dry and sunny! The rock was dry and all of a sudden, that Saturday afternoon while at work, i could ponder the best choice of venue and where i really wanted to head.

I was looking for something specific: it was dry but hadn’t been for that long, so somewhere that caught some wind would be ideal to allow it to dry off. Forest crags: out. But, by that token, there was still a winter wind whistling through the valleys so somewhere perched on a high plateau was definitely out.

After a massive amount of deliberation, eventually i opted to head to the Milestone Buttress boulders; an oft forgotten venue with some outstanding climbing. I’d looked at and dismissed the Pit before, due to landings and encroaching boulders behind the climber but figured it needed another look.

As i drove in, down the Nant Ffrancon valley, it suddenly dawned on me that our chosen venue would be shrouded in shadow. Fuck. Oh well, needs must, how cold can it be? Turns out it was almost bob on freezing.

Pablo – my Spanish sport climbing friend, for reference – and i struggled on, as i ticked Jez’s Arete 6c, jibbering like a fool on the top out and only completing as reversing the climb or jumping off looked worse than the committing moves to finish. Ping 7a also succumbed – a lovely little climb that is thoroughly recommended – and was then repeated a few times (missing the first two hard moves) with winter weight gloves. It was soon evident it was hometime.

The Monday proved much warmer and much sunnier, but the morning was preoccupied visiting my parents. However, that turned out to be much quicker than expected and despite my protestations of a lack of time, the day was just too good to pass up.

Now i’ve recently begun an article about mental preparation leading up to a session and perhaps that had a bearing, being as it was only when i drove down the steep Gwynant valley that i actually decided where i was going. That or i may have just been ridiculously out of practice but the session did not go that well.

Clogwyn y Bustach, alone but for Tess, Fagin 7a as a warm up before working on Rudder’s Wall 7a+ – an unticked climb for me. It took a couple of efforts to remember and work the first few moves but quickly i found myself at the exit jugs… and totally bottled it. I went to rock over, glanced down, suddenly changed my mind and reversed the move to come back down. “That was weird” i thought and shuffled the pads. Visual inspection of the top didn’t help and i found myself looking for excuses but i knew i had to do this.

Back on, back to the jugs, try and do the (remarkably easy) rock over at the top, bottle it again. “Fuck! what’s going on?!” i couldn’t fathom what was wrong with me!

Eventually, after repeated efforts, i committed to it, got my feet set and hands on good holds and climbed onto the top of the boulder, hyperventilating massively. “Have my trad climbing fears infiltrated my bouldering?!” i thought, worrying my climbing career might actually be regressing. No, come on, this isn’t hard, you’ve done this a hundred thousand times before, suck it up, do it. I got back on the route and finished it again.

There must have been at least five repeats before i began to feel even slightly comfortable again. It’s not a hard top out, not that high, maybe it was being alone? Well, i’m often alone and have had entire weeks in foreign countries alone before! Maybe only having a solitary pad? Again, i can’t rely on being able to carry multiple pads in, especially when the landing was sound. Still, after a few successes, it started to feel normal again. Hopefully, i was just out of practice.

I’m sure i’ve heard somewhere that you can equate three bad experiences to one good one (backed up by an interesting article here from the New York Times) and it certainly makes sense. What it means is that every time you bottle it, or every time you back off, you need to have three good experiences so as not to reinforce that negative experience. The downside in real terms to that is that it takes a lot of time to build those positive thoughts (think Oddball in Kelly’s Heroes) and by the time i start to try Rudder’s Wall i was spent.

It was a sobering session and not exactly one that filled me with joy but i guess an important lesson: time indoors cannot totally replicate time outdoors and if you want to climb hard boulder problems outside, you need to go try boulder problems outside.

So Friday afternoon, following two days at the fascinating Adventure Sports Coaching Conference at Plas y Brenin, which i will talk more about another day, Friday afternoon came and under blue skies, i headed out again. With good conditions and little wind, and as i was coaching in the evening, i opted for an old forgotten venue: Gallt yr Ogof. I’d always been put off before but recently seen some videos of ascents and wanted to go have a look with fresh eyes. Having a topo now helped too.

The path was wet on the walk in, the turds and ruts on the path totally frozen but i persevered anyway, figuring a walk would do Tess some good anyway and was pleasantly shocked to find the routes themselves bone dry! Granted it was cold but it was dry and it’d be fine.

The Ramp 7a/+ Smackhead 7b+ Diamond Eyes 7c Regeneration 7b and even Sway On 8a all looked much better than i’d remembered and very inspiring! They’ll all be on the list for the future but given the situation and temperature, the first priority was GyG Arete 6b+.

It’s a bunched start but my bendy-ness helped and quickly i was off the floor, reaching over the top for a neat little flash when my hands began to slip on the holds. Almost totally numb now, i had to see if i was still clinging on as my hands peddled off the holds and after a few seconds standing there feeling very confused, i jumped off. Looking at my hands i saw they were now actually wet and another inspection showed a complete sheet of ice across the whole of the top of the boulder.

I pondered for a few minutes, repeated the moves a few more times and tried to figure out what to do. Even if i managed the top out, i’d now be alone on a very slippy bloc that while wasn’t that high to climb onto, would still be quite painful to land off after a slip. Working low moves risked missing out on a potential flash (unlikely but possible). Reluctantly, i opted to sack it and go indoors.

Oddly though that didn’t actually feel like a negative experience and while i walked out with my tail between my legs and hands pressed hard into my armpits to thaw, the fact i’d gone and tried made it feel much better. It is worth thinking closely about what constitutes failure.

Later that evening my coaching session was sandwiched by a few burns on the last remaining projects at the indy before the latest reset. Andy Marshall was there and as i stood eating my hard-earned Chinese take away, with Tim explaining we were level pegging on our scores, Andy arrived and with huge glee announced he’d ticked off another problem and i should be demoted a place. It appears we have some healthy competition this year! So it was a sweet feeling to tick off another problem myself by the end of the evening.

Since then i’ve returned to indoor sessions and other than a hugely successful session Wednesday gone – including three 7a, four 7a+, a 7b and a 7b/+ which thrilled and confused me in equal measure – it’s been pretty much back to normal. Snow adorns the hills today but the big lesson i’ve learned: if you want to be able to get out, you gotta start getting out! With one eye on a family font trip in Spring, i think i’ll be checking the forecast.

So as i mentioned in my last post, i am back to work and am looking at a bit of retrospection on three months of time off on Shared Parental Leave. Was it worth it? Did it make a difference to our relationship? Would i do it again?

I’ll be looking at it in two minds: from a climbing point of view (being as this is indeed a climbing website) and from the view of parenting in general. Throughout i’ve been trying very hard to champion the idea that you can still get out and stay active and debunk the myth that children kill your interests so it’ll be interesting to see how well i’ve succeeded.

First, What Is Shared Parental Leave?

It’s not a daft question as Shared Parental Leave (SPL) is something that nowhere near enough people in the UK know about. Typically, the mother of a newborn will get a year off work, on varying levels of pay. Fathers meanwhile generally get a fortnight.

To even things up slightly, SPL allows parents to, in a nutshell, move the mothers leave onto the father. There are various caveats and conditions to this but in essence, since my daughter was born, i’ve found it easiest to explain it to people by saying i’ve stolen some maternity leave. It’s not 100% accurate but people understand.

In our particular case, we decided that Emily, my partner, would take the first six months off work and then i would take over and take three months before we looked for childcare. The final three months on offer were unpaid so originally we opted not to take them but then, once i was off, we decided to go for it and so Em took the last three months, meaning i got a bit in the middle.

There are many different ways you can arrange the time off to suit your circumstances and it is possible even for the self employed. This has been one of my missions over the course of Rosie’s first year: to raise awareness of this as an option. For more information, there is a dedicated government website on Shared Parental Leave that i emplore you to read.

The Plan At Six Months

As we reached the Great Work Switch mid-way through SPL, i started to get some ideas of what i wanted to do with my daughter on our time off and what i wanted to achieve. For me as a climber, and even more so as a boulderer, and with Rosie not crawling yet, i had the #babyatthecrag circling around my mind: baby play mat for her to lie on and play while i dabble on boulder problems nearby, stopping often to check on her.

The timing was good too, with the release of the highly anticipated North Wales Bouldering guidebook at roughly the same time that we swapped over. Ideal! So much more to go searching for! Still, with so many variables and not much certainty this was going to go well, i opted to stick with places i knew well that would fit what i was looking for.

Company would’ve been great but hard to come by a lot of the time so i figured i’d need to be self sufficient. Sessions would need to be short too, or at least planned to be. An hour or two might be all we could muster between us!

When we couldn’t climb, i was still keen to get out and make the most of being off work with my little one. I was very determined not to spend three months sat in the house, staring out the window, pining to be out and moping as a consequence. So for those wet days, scouting missions to new crags would be the next objective. For this, we could go almost anywhere, within reason.

Did It Work?

Yes, no and kinda.

I’d figured out i needed somewhere with a relatively short walk in, due to the excessive amount of kit i’d need to be carting in there, and somewhere with a decent flat area to leave Rosie while i was on the wall. With me happy to repeat old lines again, our first three targets were Caseg Ffraith, the Braichmelyn and the RAC boulders. All three would be dog friendly crags too.

They all worked a treat, with a steep learning curve. That first session at Caseg Ffraith and i’d opted to leave the baby bag in the car; a mistake i did not repeat! Even so, i had a good climb, got some awesome photos and Rosie had fun being out in the mountains. Tess had a whale of a time too, as she always does when we go bouldering together.

The Braichmelyn was similar although better planned and better executed. Conditions weren’t great for climbing but i couldn’t ask any more from the structure of the session and the whole day was exactly what i wanted.

The RAC was similarly a great little session and a long one at that! Still, Rosie did catch the sun a bit and i learned another important lesson about parenting!

But then the rain came and it honestly hasn’t really gone away enough since for me to have any success taking her out. Where alone you can risk it on those iffy days and bail if the weather turns, i couldn’t take that chance with a baby and all the associated crap in tow – it just isn’t possible to run away in a hurry and keep the offspring safe. I might be determined but i’m not that mad.

I never really recovered, as neither did the weather. From then on, it became solo missions on the occasional baby free day or indoor sessions – for which i can’t thank the Indy wall enough. Without that, i probably would’ve been substantially more surly.

Then came a rash of non-climbing interruptions that were far more important. In short, we moved house and climbing took very much a back seat, albeit for a very good reason. Sadly, #babyatthecrag lasted about a month, although not for lack of trying. And in that time, we honestly made the best of a damp situation.

We snagged one final day out, in great company with Dan Webb and Pete Fagan, at Upper Tier Tremadog which gave the whole time off and out some closure. All told, considering the stories i’d been fed before we started, we’d done bloody well.

What About Time Off With Rosie In General?

I have said before and reiterate now, having this time off with my daughter has developed our relationship so much. I don’t know, obviously, but i imagine it would’ve taken years to get to this point without this dedicated time together.

It’s given me some perspective as to what Em had to do while she was off the first time around and given me empathy as to what she’s doing now. Now i walk through the door after a long day at work with a totally different mindset and i’m happy to grab Rosie straight away and catch up immediately, where before i often just wanted to sit down for a few minutes.

Mostly though, and this may sound bad but hopefully makes sense, i think i love her more now than i would do otherwise. I’ve seen her grow every day into a wonderful little human, as she develops more personality, more emotion and she learns about the world around her.

I’m so glad that, climbing aside, i’ve been able to show her more of the world than the four walls inside the house and i desperately emplore any new parents to do likewise. Please get out with your kids, take them and show them the world as it’s been a wonderful experience that i wouldn’t change for the world.

I’m glad to be back at work now and have some normality back in my life – i don’t think being a stay-at-home dad would suit me that well. But if you took me back to that point at the start of the summer again and asked if i would do the same, there is not a second i would change. Now we can take this experience and grow even more and i can’t wait for the rest of our lives.

The first thing you need to do with these New Years or Solstice posts is find the last one and have a very good read. Penultimate paragraph: “if something crazy does happen”. Like moving house…? It appears i managed to foresee something coming at least!

The last six months have been super fun and to be honest, i’ll most likely be doing another reflective post in a couple more weeks when i go back to work. For both of these periods, i don’t think there’s any way we could think of my use of time as anything other than an outstanding success.

Going right back to the end of March could be tricky as to be honest, i don’t really remember that well! I do know that i missed out on my annual Spring trip to Font because having a baby is monumentally more important to life than going back to France for the umpteenth time. One would suspect this would be the pattern to follow for a long time to come but that wouldn’t count on one Miss Emily Slater.

To be honest, i think those first few months were us just being new parents and finding out feet with our new little one. Evidently, it didn’t take us that long. Rosie was four-months old when my birthday rolling around again, and we packed the baby and the dog, pads and pushchair and headed off to Ireland for a week. The tradition survived another year. (What’s more, Em is already helping me plan next June!)

We returned home after the week and i described it as “unadventurous and unproblematic – with a four-month old baby, it was perfect”. What’s more is that it gave me my first new country since 2011 (i think) and Rosie a phenomenal start to what i hope will be a lifetime of adventures.

Closer to home was the release of what is now known as the New Testament. Yes, the North Wales Bouldering Guidebook finally hit the shelves, with particular timeliness for us as it was almost exactly as my time off work began. The No Retro Ticks rule saw a surge of outdoor activity, albeit with little not done before. However, there were some lines that remained unclimbed from the old guide, proving that the system can sometimes have it’s benefits.

When the guide came out, and i first laid my hands on one, there was one page i was desperate to see. I checked the index, flicked through and there, on page 282 it is: Prowess 7b and my name in square brackets underneath. That double page is mostly credited to me and i will always be immensely proud to be featured in my local guidebook. Of all my achievements, i am incredibly proud of this one.

Shared Parental Leave kicked in early-mid August and Em went back to work while i took my place at home with Little Miss; well, maybe not entirely at home. Within the first couple of weeks, we were out, getting into #activeparenting and while the middle month was a washout, i still feel the two of us really made the most of our time together. It’s taken a lot of effort and determination but it’s come back a thousand-fold and the experiences have changed our relationship forever.

We’re also now a little over a month into this year’s Indy Aggregate and to try and encourage me there more, i’m a month into a three month pass too. What’s all the better is how happy they are there for me to take Rosie, so baby-accompanied sessions have been on and so far, the aggregate score sits pretty high.

What’s equally important for me is that i was able to show that it is possible to get out climbing with a baby along for the fun. My Instagram feed has been awash with pictures of me and Rosie getting out to the crag or the wall, we’ve been out walking if not just climbing and i’ve penned a few articles that will hopefully find somewhere for publication soon. Hopefully, i’ve inspired at least some people to get out with their youngsters and not hide behind them as a reason to stop doing what they love. [For other inspiration, check out the aptly named INSPIRE group on Facebook.]

More recent times (as in the last few weeks) have been the most trying, with the house move reaching it’s conclusion. Days are often spent taking and waiting for phone calls but it’s all necessary and will be better in the long run. Sometimes life gets in the way.

Last Season’s Goals

SPA Assessment

Another 7c+

Top ten yearly average around 7b/+

Continue the birthday tradition

Get to Font

Start to develop the coaching into something more

Don’t jeopardise your relationship for climbing…

Okay so first things first, and i’m sorry for this but this fucking SPA. The bain of my climbing career for many a year now and certainly a necessity to actually continue my career as a climbing coach (in any particular guise).

The goals stated, “If I’ve not at least had an SPA Assessment by the end of the summer, there needs to be a good explanation” and the good news is i have had an SPA Assessment – i just didn’t pass… The other good news is that it was only the personal climbing that let me down and as such, it’s only that small part that needs repeating.

The bad news is the warmer weather has come and gone and it’ll be Spring before i can even start to address this. Still, there has been progress, albeit not complete.

Another 7c+? No chance, that was never gonna happen and to be honest, from what i’ve heard, getting anywhere near that has been an achievement in itself! In reality, it soon became trying to maintain strength levels as of Rosie’s birth, not improve them and in that respect, i’ve not actually done that badly. But the idea of climbing another 7c+ right now seems so unlikely, it doesn’t warrant further conversation.

Top ten yearly average of 7b is possible, even now, although as i’m now restricted to days off and i’ll soon be back at work, getting the remaining four needed to tip the balance above 7a+ again looks unlikely. Close, but unlikely. It might have happened, with the New Testament and plenty more projects to go at but i’m blaming the shitty weather on this one – i’m certainly not the only one to be complaining about the insatiable drizzle we’ve suffered from lately.

Continue the birthday tradition: check! and getting to Font has been delayed after selling a buying a house. There will certainly be no complaints here, it’s just one of those things and i was always going to move one day, and that was always going to affect everything. That’s just part of growing up.

As for the coaching, it is certainly moving in the right direction and may be approaching a critical point where it needs to become something official. I now have a growing portfolio of impressed clients of various levels, a series of articles and writings to accompany my work and a growing sense that what i’m doing is working. For now, it’s a case of keep ticking along and see how it goes but come Spring, it’s going to be crucial to get the SPA finished so i can formalise myself into something more professional.

Now the big question: have i jeopardised my relationship during the last six months for climbing? Truthfully, i don’t know for certain but i’m pretty certain the answer is no. In fact, being totally honest, my relationship has almost quashed my climbing at times but that would be to ignore the monumental factors such as having a baby and moving house, and thus would be unfair.

The fact is it’s a balancing act and never an easy one for any couple but whatever you’re using it for, personal space is important for any relationship and finding that balance is crucial to it’s success. So far, i think we’re doing pretty well, all things considered. Em’s certainly stoked for us to get away next year! But then i knew she was a keeper almost from the first moment i met her.

2017 Autumn/Winter goals

I’m not going to break these down into short- and long-term, i’m just going to quickly set some things to keep me ticking along.

The aggregate remains my most likely source of action and while the strong climbers are back for this edition this winter and there are a lot of upcoming good climbers nipping at my heels already, i still think top-10 is a minimum. I’ll go out on a limb and say the goal should be top 5, as well as a score to beat every other category other than my own.

Meanwhile, some outdoor sessions would be nice and given there is a HUGE new guidebook to go at, climbing, say, half a dozen new lines of 7a or above should be perfectly feasible. Either that or insanely hard, who knows, but it should give me something to aim for.

Climbing somewhere that isn’t in North Wales would be really nice too, especially as i know Em is keen to get away a bit more and it would be great for Rosie to see new places. One weekend, again, shouldn’t be too much to ask.

Coaching? Well, just carry on really! More time coaching, more articles, more testimonies and hopefully more professionalism. It’s crossed my mind lately that quickly getting through a CWA wouldn’t be that bad an idea, if i could do it, and would mean i’d actually be a qualified coach. The SPA could follow afterwards.

And finally, start to plan the next two expeditions: Font in the Spring and hopefully Germany in the summer. Both seem fairly realistic and cost-effective for what we’re looking to achieve but will need some forethought and planning. The sooner this is done, the more likely they are to happen.

Top 5 Aggregate finish

6 outdoor sessions with at least a new 7a completed

A weekend climbing out of Wales

Continue to develop coaching and formalise what i offer

Plan trips to Font and Germany

There, those are the next goals. Given how up in the air life is right now and how much i’m struggling to get my brain to work in a straight line, i think they’re attainable. This winter is going to be focused on maintaining my current abilities, rather than developing them. Only time will tell how successful we’ll be but i tell you what: so far, so good.

After my analysis of “active parenting” in my last post, it’s been a month now and to be totally honest, the climbing has dried up; unlike the weather.

The terrible weather mentioned a couple of posts ago has conspired to keep us from going out and totally stymeed the early momentum from my first time off with Rosie. Instead, we’ve… well, truth be told, i honestly can’t remember what we’ve been doing!

Even my Instagram feed – usually a useful record of our latest activities – is filled with throwback photos to try and get some psyche back. In fact, there are only two outdoor climbing posts since the last update post: a very quick and short blast at the Cromlech boulders and a recent glorious day at Clogwyn y Tarw.

The latter was indeed a great little session, with the aim being a climb i’d not really looked at called The Rocker 7b. The big one for me at Clogwyn y Tarw remains The Punk 7c from sit but with my current form, i’d noticed the lower grade and thought it would be a wiser objective. Sadly – as often happens with choosing goals from a guidebook – once i’d seen it for real, it didn’t actually appeal that much, and needed more protection (another pad or a spotter) than i had with me.

Instead, i opted to tick off a couple of other problems whose descriptions in the old guidebook have been greatly improved by photo topos: Soul Boy 6c and Here Comes Cadi 7a. Neither were flashed, as i bottled the top out and am soooo rusty on rock right now, but both were and are outstanding lines with great moves.

The only other outdoor activity of a climbing-related nature was a lovely walk into the newly developed Tal y Fan. This new crag lies miles out to the east of the park, overlooking the Conwy valley with a stunning vista down the the Irish Sea, and was almost undiscovered until the enterprising local activist Owen Hayward developed it in recent years.

With a friend of mine, Alex, living over that way and asking if i was keen to have a day out with our respective young kids, it seemed a logical place to go and explore; especially as the weather was actually quite nice.

In hindsight, taking pads and shoes in wouldn’t have been the worst idea but we would’ve had to be a LOT more organised. Saying that, a scouting mission was indeed useful and the crag dries super quickly. The aspect alone is worth the walk in.

While that short summary concludes all of our outdoor excursions in the last month (MONTH!) we have been able to make use of the local indoor facilities – although even then, i’ve been more coaching than actually climbing!

The most notable session must be over near Queensferry at the excellent Boardroom. With Em’s brother living over that way, we drove over to meet up and have a bit of a family climbing session. It was, indeed, absolutely awesome, in a great wall that we don’t often use as it’s a little too far away, with James and Em both getting a climb in and with three of us, Rosie had a great time too.

Meanwhile, closer to home, the annual Indy Aggregate competition kicked off again a touch earlier than expected – numbering existing climbs, rather than stripping everything and resetting. Even with this, i still opted to play it safe and try and repeat anything that i could, to make sure i’d actually done everything i was saying i had. A couple of the harder climbs would be the exceptions.

Next thing i knew, i’d managed 50 climbs in one evening. By the end of it, i was making Chris Sharma-esq noises on a 4 and couldn’t do the first move on a 6a. Last time there, i had only five problems outstanding in the current set.

It has also proven an excellent venue for #daddydaughtertime. Admittedly i do try hard to pick times and days when it will not be busy but there aren’t many walls that will just allow me to take an 8-month-old baby and have her on the pad with me. More than that even, as Rosie often gets some fuss treatment from the lads down there and last time we were there, Dave was encouraging her to start crawling…

I’ve often waxed poetic about the Indy Climbing Wall and it speaks volumes that i’m more than happy to do it again and again. It’s more than just good business, there is a friendliness and genuine encouragement around the place, a nice vibe that makes me want to keep going back. The fact i’m welcome to take Rosie – or in fact anyone able to take any well behaved children like that! – is a testament to the nature of the place. With our outdoor options curtailed somewhat, it’s been fantastic to have such a facility so nearby.

My last post prompted a very good and very old (yeah, Dan, you’re old!) friend to call me on some of the gripes i’ve been having lately and it got me thinking: have i been ungrateful while i’ve been off with Rosie?

His original reply:

To be fair pete, and I don’t want to sound like a dick. You’ve got a sweet deal. You’re lucky to spend so much time with your daughter and go climbing when weather allows is a bonus at this stage in the game. Stop moaning. It’ll stop raining soon.

That, in turn, led to a rather lengthy public Facebook conversation between us about me, my attitude and the things i could be doing rather than staring at the rain fall outside and wishing my life away.

And it led to me reflecting on the time i’ve had so far. As with my ideas on New Years, it’s probably wise to look back periodically and if i do this now, it should allow me to make even more of the rest of the time we have before i go back to work. It might even come to affect our relationship after i have gone back!

Our Daily Routine

To start with, here’s some of our daily routines.

Em works one of two shifts on any given day: a morning shift until 2pm or an evening shift that normally starts early afternoon and finishes at 9pm. Personally, i prefer when she’s working mornings and we’ve developed a standard routine on these occasions.

With Rosie being tantamount to the perfect child, we normally get up around 9am, have a bottle and a cup of tea and then wash up from the night before, including her bottles. Then she has a nap while i write, or do house move admin or hopefully get everything ready for heading out later, making a plan based on the weather. Around 1pm, she normally wakes up and it’s lunchtime, with some shmush, finger food and another bottle. Then we’re out.

With me being so easy to please, usually just wanting tea and climbing, the default is always to try and get out to a crag but that doesn’t mean it’s the only thing we do and it certainly doesn’t mean if it’s not possible, we don’t do anything at all. I’ll talk more later about what we have actually achieved so far.

If Em is on a morning shift, normally i wait until she gets home and we normally then do something as a family. Yesterday, for example, was swimming which was awesome and something we all love to do. Walking around North Wales is also a popular option, especially as it keeps Tess, our resident canine, happy too. Sometimes, it ends up being something more necessary than fun-focused, like a trip to Tesco or the other popular one is to socialise with grandparents – we are lucky that both have accommodation of sorts around here and we see them often.

When Em is working and outdoor climbing not an option, there is still a bit of a hierarchy of activities i like to opt for. Both local walls are very accommodating and i have a great relationship with both so an indoor session often works well, and there is another climbing wall on site at work at Plas y Brenin; the latter having the advantage that we get to see Rosie’s mum briefly and our colleagues love seeing the baby.

The next option is normally to go boulder scouting. I’ve found that no level of knowledge of a crag pre-baby can actually tell you whether it’s a suitable venue to take a little one and it’s always best to check with fresh eyes now you know what you’re looking for. And of course, it’s just a walk in the hills really – a win for everyone.

What about typical baby activities?

As for things like baby club or baby massage, that’s more my problem than anything else. I just don’t feel like i’d be that welcome and don’t actually know when and where most of these things take place.

Granted that’s mostly my responsibility to find out but i’m just not entirely convinced these things are as much for dads as they are for mums. That and why would i do that when i can take everyone climbing, keeping me and Tess that bit happier?

There is a bit of a network of local outdoorsy mums that i kinda know but haven’t really socialised with properly yet. In the interests of some peer social time for Rosie, it is something i know i should pursue but for now, what we’re doing is working and keeping us pretty happy.

Have i neglected the dog?

Erm, yeah probably. Fitting Tess and Rosie into life has proved the biggest challenge for me and sadly, the dog often loses out.

I am conscious of this, hence the hierarchy of activities; it keeps her happier and healthier. At the least, i try and get a walk around the village every day for Tess, so she doesn’t go stir crazy. And of course any baby free time is normally tailored to give my loyal pooch some activity too.

Rosie and Tess have certainly gelled perfectly and have a great relationship, even at this very young stage. Play time with the baby at home often engages the dog too which certainly helps. In a short while, i’m sure they’ll be exhausting each other while i’m washing up.

Has It Worked?

That depends on how you look at it but in the greater scheme of things, yes it has, spectacularly so.

Part of the problem is that i want to be out, every single day. If i can’t for around a week, i get itchy feet and start to think we’re not getting out enough.

Another part of the problem is that my memory is shite and i often plain forget that we got out climbing five times last week and it’s only this week we haven’t done as much. That’s what happened with my last post.

Here’s some figures to go with it: my 27crags ticklist shows 58 new boulder problems since i started Shared Parental Leave – and that doesn’t include a lot of climbs i’ve repeated, that’s just things that weren’t already on the list .

A quick count shows that Rosie herself has been to at least ten venues in North Wales since she was born, either while we were climbing or on a scouting mission. That doesn’t take into account the days i’ve been out without her in that time and that’s just North Wales, so you can add a week in Glendalough into that as well.

On the Facebook debate that prompted this post, Dan said,

For all the support I get from my partner, I can still only climb on average once at weekends, and two or three evenings a month. I tend to get rained off 25% of my days. I climbed a handful of times during my first year as a dad.

That is indeed a bit of perspective! especially as his partner is absolutely awesome. How i’ve done this, i’m not entirely sure but i certainly shouldn’t be taking it for granted.

The Big Important Point

The big huge, neon signed, slap people in the face point i’ve been trying to labour is that you too can get out. If i can do it, you can do it. I’m a barely organised, often unfed and unkept, mess of a human being. People have often said to me before, “i don’t know how you’re still alive” due to my chaotic nature and lack of basic ability to look after myself to others standards. [For the record, i look after my daughter infinitely better and she is perfectly happy and healthy.] If i can get myself sorted to get out climbing, anyone can.

I honesty think that a lot of people – and i don’t mean Dan or anyone else in particular – act the way they think they should when it comes to looking after babies. You’re faced with the fact it’s really hard right from the moment you announce you’re expecting and it really doesn’t fill you with confidence. My dad was the worst for it, telling me i’d never be able to leave the house with a baby; although that may have been a blessing in disguise, as i normally try and prove him wrong with anything he says. So thanks dad, you inadvertently helped.

Get organised, get out. Learn your babies routine and manipulate it to help you. Don’t fall into the habit of being A Parent above everything else – still be you and be a parent as well. Now i’ve looked back, i’ve suddenly realised what the levels of success you can have can be.

This weather is ridiculous. So far this month, we’ve had sunny spells interspersed with heavy showers, meaning we’ve got a beautiful view of a lot of rock that is perpetually too wet to climb on. And as a consequence, a dad here who is getting more and more frustrated at the world.

This happens this time every year. I often comment on weather patterns and that if the latter half of July and August is wet, September normally comes out to be dry and pleasant. A dry August will normally see us suffer from damp, potentially until the spring. So far, autumn 2017 isn’t looking that good.

With being off with Rosie, it’s mostly been a case of making the best of it and trying to get out as best we can and while it seems we haven’t done that much since my last post, looking back through the pictures on my phone has actually just shown me we’ve done pretty well after all!

30th August, two days after saying my farewell to Clare, i actually managed to escape for some baby-free time and head back up into the pass. I’d been keen to head to the Meadow and re-tick Killer Weed 7a for a little while and now, with Em and Rosie potentially to follow on a bit later, i took Tess up for a session. On the way, i bumped into an old friend, Mikey, and a youngster he was working with, who opted to take the long trudge up the hill to join me.

We got distracted on the way at the Wavelength boulder and started ticking. Despite being there only a few weeks previous, No Retro Ticks came into play and i repeated almost everything again and in a wonderful example of why it works, ended up ticking off a new line, Gav’s Sitter 7a+ on the second effort!

Two days later, we were out again, back at the Brenin boulder to see if it had dried enough since our last effort. Land Rover parked in the bushes, pads and baby crap carried in and very quickly it became apparent that the slightly high but easy top out was wet and slimy. While easy and not scary in the dry, in these conditions, it could be a touch treacherous and alone, it just wasn’t worth it. Instead, we bid retreat and headed to a small party to say farewell to this year’s crop of Centre Assistants – a great bunch of guys who will, i’m sure, all go on to great things.

The following day, with no rain since then, we tried again. Without even taking the baby up to the crag from the track this time, it was evident that it was still too damp so the backup plan came into effect: the RAC boulders.

The RAC is an unusual crag, having an abundance of easy lines but without much in the harder grades and since i began generally operating in the higher 7s, it’s somewhere i’ve normally avoided. Most of the lines i’ve done before and weren’t actually that challenging so the idea of going and repeating them again never really inspired. The difference now is a new guidebook to tick and a very baby friendly crag. Plus, there’s a load of new stuff that is actually that little bit harder now.

Old habits do die hard and i quickly ran up and down most of the climbs on the easier lower boulder, one after the other. It did, i must admit, feel very good to get some mileage in and did tire me out a little. Next was the front face on the other boulder and after finding a safe little dip to leave Rosie, i happily repeated most of the lines, trying On One 7b+, the hardest climb at the crag, to little avail. I did, however, forget to tick the 7a Frontside Traverse which is a little frustrating.

On my return home, i continued to update 27crags with accurate records of all of North Wales bouldering and found, to my dismay, thirteen climbs of 6c or harder that i’d either missed, neglected or not had a chance to finish! It appears i need to read this book more and not assume i know the crag…

Since then, outdoor climbing has become nothing more than a dream. Where the weather was glorious on the Saturday at the RAC, the Sunday was nothing more than a deluge for Em’s birthday and her planned trip up Crib Goch was undoubtedly cancelled. Instead, in search of some shelter from the torrential drizzle, Em, her brother James and his partner Rachael, their mum, Rosie, Tess and myself all went for a little wander through Beddgelert forest.

It had crossed my mind to do a bit of boulder scouting but that wasn’t the point of the day and it wouldn’t have been right to try and hijack it. This was Em’s birthday and despite the poor weather, it was a lovely family day out, topped off with food and tea in the Hebog cafe in Beddgelert to dry out a bit.

A dry day the following Wednesday (that i’d forgotten about) was stymeed by a cement mixer making a hash of getting up Goodman Street here in Llanberis and managing to spill a large amount of concrete all over the road… and the cars parked along it. Three cars took the brunt, including the Land Rover with a splash on the front wing.

She was in desperate need for a clean and a polish anyway so that was the plan for the rest of the day and to be fair, she looked absolutely sparkling afterwards. Problem was, the day after, i noticed cement underneath, on the suspension, diff, brakes, all over so my beloved green machine is currently away being tended to while we cruise North Wales in a Nissan X-Trail.

It proved quite useful for our Non-Climbing Commitment (or NCC) in Birmingham at the weekend, giving us an economical and comfortable ride there and back. A party for some old friends on the Saturday evening was preceeded by a trip to the Botanical Gardens in the daytime and to be fair, it was an excellent weekend.

Since then, it’s been a case of timing the gaps between showers and getting pissed off. Thankfully, Rosie has grown to the point where she is now able to ride in the rucksack carrier and so, armed with a steak pie and a smile, on Monday gone, we went boulder scouting once again, to the Llyn y Gadair boulders and then possibly further into Beddgelert forest – a spot seemingly turning into our second home lately!

Sadly, on arrival in Birmingham on Friday evening, i’d decided i was only going to get strong if i exercised more and went for a run. An hour later, dripping in sweat, i had staggered back and my legs hadn’t quite recovered by our walk on Monday, meaning that as time wore on and progress slow, we cut the walk short and headed home. Llyn y Gadair looks good for a short session though.

Looking back, it seems i’ve not actually been that unlucky after all and it’s surprising how high are the standards i’ve set myself of late. We’ve actually been getting out much more than i’d realised and given i have a young child in tow, I’ve been spending my mornings writing lately on how you can maintain much of your old life once a baby arrives and it’s important to remember what you have done. Once you’re into the day to day routine, it’s easy to think you’ve not done enough.

Okay, the name of this post is a little misleading given the amount we’ve been managing to get out recently! It came to me as we were forced into a hasty retreat on our first unaccompanied day out once someone decided enough was enough and the title seemed pretty apt as we’ve been at various crags this weekend listening to Test Match Special and following the cricket… Nevertheless, there’s no doubting the start of our little adventure together has been a resounding success.

My last post talked of a solo session for myself (admittedly with Tess in tow) up in the Llanberis pass and some scouting missions but no actual bouldering sessions for me and Rosie. Well, after much anticipation, Thursday gone, we finally got out.

I think in hindsight, the excitement of finally taking my young daughter bouldering with me got the better of me and as Em went off to work, i frantically ran around trying to get all the required accessories together and piled into the car. A Land Rover 90 is not big enough and on the way back, the piles of stuff in the back nearly covered poor Tess, who at one point was almost scrabbling to get into the front cab with us.

We were afforded the luxury of taking plenty as the crag in question was Caseg Fraith – an old favourite of mine and perfectly suited to a baby session. We were even able to pull up right near the crag, unload and then move the car around to the farmhouse, giving us a minimal load to drag in. In a move that would later make me slap myself hard in the head with the palm of my hand, i figured the car was so close, i could leave the changing bag in the car…

The session started really well, with me ticking off the easier lines on the left of the crag up to and including Caseg Fraith Arete 6b while Rosie enjoyed playing with the toys on her play mat and occasionally watching me climb. The occasional fussy moment was easily dealt with and soon enough, i was shuffling the pads under the roof of Skunk X 7a+.

That seemed to be the trigger – or at least the time – for Rosie to begin to fall out of love with our adventurous afternoon. Rapidly, contentedness made way for fussing and some early crying and just after i’d ticked Skunk X, we both realised time was up. She was hungry now.

The problem, as mentioned above, was the changing bag being in the car. By the time i’d saddled up with the inordinate amount of crap, she could probably be heard the length and breadth of the Ogwen valley.

With the session having equal success and failure, i decided to call it a good one. I’d defied most of my own advice i’d recently penned in an article about bouldering with babies and thought i should probably learn from my mistakes but remain undeterred. And that is exactly what i did.

The Saturday following our mixed day out, we tried again. The target this time: the Braichmelyn, or Super Boulder, near Bethesda. Another short walk in with enough space for Tess to run and play, i was definitely making the most of the No Retro Ticks rule!

One subtle but important change for this session was the play mat for the baby. As Caseg Fraith, i’d taken the small play mat from the living room whereas this time, i took a much larger one procured from my cousin Lindsay. It worked a treat and Rosie was an absolute dream – playing with toys peacefully while i duly ticked off more climbs. I stopped to feed her briefly and she dropped off for a nap but none of this prevented sends of The Ramp 6a!, Central Wall 6c+ and the sit start at 7a, Braichmelyn Arete 5b and again, the 7a sit start and a fresh tick of Kryptonite 4c!.

In fact, it wasn’t even Rosie who forced the exit from this crag – more my own abject efforts at ticking the two 7a lines Klimov and The Crack. Given the miniscule crimps in use, i’m blaming the conditions and not my own failings. That’s what good climbers do isn’t it?

Monday i needed to call into work to say goodbye to a colleague going off to greater things and the plan was to go in early and head to the Plas y Brenin boulder, given there are now several good new link ups to go at that didn’t appear in the old guide. However, we were once again thwarted by the friendliness of the Brenin…

You can’t go anywhere in that place in a hurry; certainly not without a stern look adorning your face and a furrowed brow. It can regularly take half an hour to get a cup of tea, getting distracted chatting to pretty much anyone else you happen across along the way. Throw an adorable baby into the mix and you’ll never get anything done. That’s what happened last time i went in: climbing took second place to sitting in the bar.

It almost happened again but with dark clouds gathering overhead, an indoor session seemed more sensible anyway. With an empty climbing wall on site, we headed down to get some mileage in.

True to form, Rosie was great and with Cat from the bar mixing playing on the wall with playing with the baby, i managed a third good session in five days. Clare, the departing colleague, even managed to take a few minutes out to come and say hello – to be honest, that made the session all the more worth it. Clare, it’s been a pleasure and i know you’ll be sorely missed around the centre.

It has been a long time coming, for anyone wanting to boulder in North Wales; that’s quite a number of people given it is up there as a contender for the best bouldering in Britain! The last guide was originally published in 2004, in moody black and white and was actually bilingual, with everything being given descriptions in Welsh (Cymraeg) as well as English. It went out of print back in 2009 and has been a prized possession for anyone lucky enough to lay their hands on one – something not to be loaned or lost for sure! – until now.

For some context, the old guide was 303 pages and (as well as half of it being duplicated already) contained the usual general pages, commandments for bouldering outdoors, two pages on gear, another on landings, four pages on the definition of a boulder problem (worth a read) and another three on grading. At the back, once past the faraway crag of Cae Ddu, you’d find a FULL graded list of everything in the book, eight colour photos including one of the great John Gaskins and SIXTEEN pages on history of the local scene. Oh and a glossary.

All that is gone, save for four pages of introduction; such is the nature of the North Wales bouldering explosion since the last guide first hit the shelves some thirteen years ago. In fairness, it had to as the weighty tome that now covers my homeland extensively still comes in at 667 pages. It weighs 1150g, almost half the weight of my daughter when she was born…

The old classics are in there, obviously but with entire new crags that only the most dedicated of locals were aware of. Nevertheless, with almost every crag at the very least giving a photo topo for an old project for me, and after years of deliberation, i’ve opted to go for a No Retro Ticks approach to the guide.

I was chatting to an old friend Andy Marshall the other day and said about this so just to clarify: No Retro Ticks refers simply to literally ticking the guidebook, not claiming the ascent. What this means in real terms is that there is a lot of repeating of boulder problems around here for me all of a sudden!

That’s not to mean i’m going to leave a lot of the new stuff. On the contrary, unable to wait for the delivery at work, i snagged a copy from local shop V12 (often called VDiff) the day it arrived and was out the following day checking out somewhere i’d been before but not climbed.

I love doing established boulder problems, with beta and a grade and i love doing first ascents but what i really don’t like is doing something that i know has been done but i don’t know how or how hard. I find it really irritating and more than once i’ve done something slightly different from the original and don’t quite get the ascent. There have been a few places like that around here but all of a sudden, i have a book that now shows me where they lie.

The first crag on my radar? The first crag in the book! Little walk in, dog friendly and oft pondered, i headed into Fachwen to get some much needed mileage under my belt.

A great little session culminating in Shorter’s Roof 7a+ while listening to the Test cricket. More than getting back into the swing of things, it was liberating to actually climb something i’d looked at years ago but was put off by not knowing enough detail. That and it’s a great little roof.

The only other ticks in the book were up in the pass where i managed to sneak out for a couple of hours. The Llanberis Pass has always been the focal point of the North Wales bouldering scene and has suddenly expanded, somewhat unexpectedly. One would’ve thought it couldn’t get much else new but it really has.

The Obedience Boulders are one such area that weren’t really known before but now have photo topos and provide a quick session for those nearby. Most people will be lured to the nearby Corridors Of Power 7c+ but i would suggest Nicotine Wall and it’s surrounding problems would be worth stopping at on the way there.

Sadly, despite obsessively reading the book at every opportunity, that remains my only outdoor sessions to date; stymied by poor weather and a baby, not to mention moving house. What we have mentioned though are some excellent scouting missions.

The crag of Fontainefawr was another i’d heard plenty about but not visited so an evening walk turned quickly into bushwacking and searching in the woods to find the inspiring hanging roof. It did look mighty impressive but for me, didn’t quite hit the spot and would most definitely not be baby friendly.

The one that did push my buttons was Supercrack. Under the heading of the Black Rhino boulder – a less inspiring but equally tempting boulder – Supercrack has captivated my attention since i first laid eyes on it in person. Despite the rain, the bottom half remained chalked and i really cannot wait for a dry spell to get back there and get spat off the harder (and hopefully not the easier) lines.

It looked inspiring in a recent video that caught my attention too but that wasn’t why i was watching. Long time readers will remember the excitement i felt after completing my best first ascent, Prowess 7b. So imagine my excitement when i watched this video:

It is a great feeling to put up a new line, even better to see it in the guidebook but to know that people are out there climbing it is a real thrill. What’s even better is a conversation i had the other day with the boys at Dragon Holds.

After recognising the woods of Bryn Engan in a photo, and a comment saying they were searching for new boulders, i asked if it was where i thought. The reply: “You know where it is, near Pyb boulder and prowess”. Not only are people now trying my climb, they’re also using it as a landmark!

It might sound a little sad but it’s nice to think that while this new book is giving me so much inspiration and new climbs to throw myself at, that i’ve been a little part of that.

As regular or recent readers will know, i recently went to Ireland for a trip to the Wicklow mountains and was a little scathing about the guidebook.

Well, a comment appeared underneath the post from a Mr David Flanagan, author of said guidebook. He was, let us say, less than impressed by my review.

That is totally understandable; guidebooks don’t make the authors much money and are a labour of love so having some random internet guy write horrid things about it online can’t have been pleasant.

Thankfully for us both, David has been very understanding and we’ve been chatting via email about my post, the guidebook and his thoughts and explanations. I said in the comments, i’m genuinely grateful to get called up on my post and for him to get in touch. He’s been very open to conversation and we’ve been talking it through. So here are some of the reflections since we’ve started talking:

Areas covered

Firstly, a mistake i made with my review: we only went to Glendalough. We didn’t travel to any of the other areas – and i’ll talk more about this in a minute – and certainly didn’t make it to the North, South or West of Ireland. So to judge the whole guidebook based on my experience in Wicklow, nay Glendalough alone, was unfair.

So all of my previous comments related purely to this one crag. As such, i apologise for this mistake. In due course, i’m hoping to explore a little more but until that point, i need to remember to specify.

Maps in the guide

This is the point where David had the most trouble and something we’ve since talked about quite a bit. I have argued that there is a gap in the mapping – with a large scale overview and a very small scale map to get from the parking – and that there should be one in between.

His counter to this: “I think that to find any area would be pretty straightforward on a gps enabled phone” and he has also suggested, “A good road atlas is worth getting. Probably don’t need the OS maps unless you are exploring new areas”.

While i completely understand, i still feel a map with a scale in between the two on offer would pay dividends and it is something that most guides do offer. This is the point where we seem to disagree and that’s fine, we’re entitled to our individual opinions. There are some map-related retractions from my posts and they can be seen below.

Problem descriptions and Photo Topos

Here we get a bit more subtle and into the minutiae of the guide. Again, much as with my first point, it is important to remember this all stems from the relatively small number of problems i encountered; 12 pages out of 230. As such, for me to offer an opinion on Ireland as a whole was unjust and i apologise.

We discussed the problems i had tried and struggled with and some of the issues i’d had and again, to his credit, David listened and accepted what i had said; for example about the back of the Big Jane boulder. Likewise for BBE he agreed that commenting that the rock plinth was in would be worthwhile.

There may be a third edition on it’s way so these subtle differences could well be included.

For me to say, “photo topos for boulders are scant” is harsh and not the case. There are boulders that could do with more attention, as mentioned above, but there are plenty of photo topos in the guide.

Grades

Grades are always a contentious issue and this is a conversation we did have but one that didn’t interest David that much. You’ll always get this, where someone disagrees strongly with the area’s grading but to use three days of bouldering to come out with the comment, “listen to me when i tell you, dear Irish climbers: your grading is just pure wrong” is misguided and with my experience – especially when i then use that to back up the comment – i should’ve known better.

I maintain the grades in this area lack consistency and could do with some outside influence but there is scope for that online in the form of online logbooks and there are not many opinions on problems. Until Ireland and specifically Glendalough attain more international attention, this will be an issue for travelling climbers. Even then, i am willing to concede that i may be wrong.

This is not uncommon. I’ve been to places both famous and not and this is always an issue. It’s normally worse for locals who can debate the intricate details of each problem for a much longer time. As for Glendalough, i still don’t think it’s perfect and i still think Andy’s Arete should be 7a but that is one area in a whole country and my comment, “the grades in Glendalough are shit” was uncalled for.

Overall

Anyone who writes for the public – journalists, essayists, bloggers, forum users, anyone with a social media account including twitter and facebook among the myriad of others – should be held to account for the comments they make. With the advent of the internet and the ease with which we are able to make public statements to be heard by the masses, the more extreme comments can come to the fore much more easily.

I have often dismissed comments of this nature by others as “keyboard warriors” who don’t really care or think about the consequences of their words. This episode has highlighted to me how easy it is to drift into that state of mind without realising.

I’ve been lucky: the guy i slated has had the strength of character not only to call me on it but to discuss it like a professional and i hope i’ve conducted myself in a similar fashion. I can only apologise for making rash comments. A friend said to me, when talking about penning this post, that when he read the originals, he thought i’d get hate mail and to be honest, in hindsight, he might have been right.

I have left the original posts unedited deliberately. As with print media, once you have said something, it is said and i don’t want to tamper with it to try and make myself look less culpable. However, i have posted an addendum onto the post to point people in the direction of my retraction.

As for the guide, it is not, as per my original judgement, a “crap guidebook”. Yes, i’ve used better but i’ve also used much worse and we were able to find the crags i was most interested in and plenty of problems to climb. Yes, the maps don’t live up to my high expectations but they do work, in conjunction with another road map as eluded to in the opening chapters. To pass such harsh judgment based on Glendalough alone was simply wrong and i should’ve been more specific.

The most important point is this: don’t let my review put you off going. The climbing in Glendalough is worth the trip alone and i’m sure some of the other crags in the area are similarly excellent. The guidebook, as new editions emerge, is becoming better all the time and got us to and around the crag with ease.

If i did go back, would i want the guidebook with me? Absolutely and i think that says it all.

Some Retractions

The following are comments from my two original posts that David highlighted that i wish to retract.

“it is massively lacking as even a half decent guidebook”. This is harsh and untrue.

“There are practically no maps, photo topos for boulders are scant and the descriptions for the problems that aren’t photographed are often useless”. There are maps, as discussed above, there are several photo topos and often descriptions are perfectly suitable. If there are individual problems with routes you find, the guidebook author is amenable to feedback.

“try and find anywhere less obvious – like every single other crag in the area – and the guide lacks even the slightest bit of quality”. I didn’t actually try to find places, we relied on climbing at Glendalough and so this comment was unjust.

“i would suggest that even at this wonderfully accessible location, i would’ve really struggled to find anything”. In hindsight, we did find the crag and several problems without help and locals generally gave more specific information on individual problems.

“the crap guidebook didn’t actually show us where any other crags are”. It does, you just need to try a little bit. I was being lazy and this comment is not based on any evidence.

“the grades in Glendalough are shit”. A snap judgement, possibly born out of frustration at my own performance, that wasn’t backed up by attempting enough climbs. A lesson not to judge grades by one’s own performance over a short period of time.

“listen to me when i tell you, dear Irish climbers: your grading is just pure wrong”. I did not try enough climbing in Ireland to make this statement.

Once again, many thanks to David Flanagan for taking the time to discuss this with me.

Firstly, apologies for the ranting in my previous post. Some aspects of the trip did annoy and frustrate me, considering my background and expertise but that doesn’t mean i want to inflict that on my good readers. So, here’s a photo of me, Tess and my daughter looking super cute in the tent two days after my birthday, chilling to the Jungle Book soundtrack:

Now that we’ve brightened the mood, back to the activites of last week. As i’ve said, it wasn’t just a climbing trip this one, with family time being just as imortant and with that in mind, the Sunday was to be spent doing just that. The problem was we didn’t really know what family time should involve around the mountains of Wicklow…

After a morning of mild indecision, eventually we did head out, dropping in to the “market” in Roundwood – actually just a handful of old ladies with cakes and plants for sale in the local Church hall – before heading North. The plan was to head into Bray, to try and find an outdoor shop and buy gas, before grabbing something to eat and seeing where the wind took us. Little did we realise that it was Sunday in a very Catholic country.

Everything was closed, much as the same way as i’ve experienced around Europe in the past. A quick search online showed our intent to buy gas was doomed from the start and tensions started to fray as the day ticked on and we hadn’t actually done anything. We drove along the coast but were stymied by the roofbox and the added height and it began to look like we’d not achieve anything when unexpectedly, we found ourselves at the Great Sugar Loaf.

An obvious tourist trap – born out of the fact it’s visible for miles around – The Great Sugar Loaf is one of those unique mountains/hills that sits isolated from everywhere around it. At 501m above sea level, and with the road and car park eliminating quite a chunk of that ascent, it’s not really a tough walk, even considering the scrambly gully. It was a nice little wander and the view at the top was outstanding! We could see over Dublin, across to the Wicklow mountains and right across County Wicklow. Busy with people – and you could certainly understand why on such a nice day – it was a great little find and meant we headed back to the campsite after a successful Sunday after all.

Monday came and to my surprise, i was treated to another climbing day. I say surprise as to be honest, i didn’t think we’d get another one in but Em did a sterling effort in dragging us out quickly and efficiently, proving it is possible, and the poor forecast turned out to be a false one.

Yet again, we headed up the valley in Glendalough; partly because the crap guidebook didn’t actually show us where any other crags are but mainly because i had unfinished business on Andy’s Arete. At the car, we loaded up and i was keen to test out getting me, Rosie and all of our stuff in to the crag ready for Baby leave this summer. So, i saddled up with the Petzl pad on my back, my climbing bag and changing bag hanging off the back and a baby strapped to my front.

The problem was that i couldn’t get the waistband up properly so all the weight was pulling down hard on my shoulders. As a consequence, i was leaning forward quite a bit. That meant that little Rosie’s head drooped quite badly and then needed supporting by my hand. We got more than our fair share of funny looks on the way in! and i have enormous gratitude to Em for taking the baby and an unladen pad on the way back.

After a quick break to catch my breath and allow myself to stop sweating, i got on some of the boulders close to the path. These are really convenient and indeed meant i could also keep an eye on Rosie and not have to run off on my own. There are also some real gems in there. But then we get onto the subject of grading…

Now i’m aware that i advertised this post as less ranty than the previous but this does need to be said: the grades in Glendalough are shit.

Let me explain. In any area, there is often a disparity in what climbers think is, say, a 7a compared to elsewhere in the world. That’s quite normal and is to be expected but in the Wicklow mountains, it seems this is just that step too far. There were apparently classic 7a climbs there that i couldn’t figure out how to step off the floor (not a problem i usually have) as the holds were simply too poor. That just doesn’t happen on 7a.

On Saturday’s session, it took three attempts to finish off a simple 5 – and that was on the second session. Remember that not last year i climbed 7c+ in North Wales. Yes, i’m off form, and yes, i’ve not long had a baby but a fall from grace this large would only really result from a substantial and debilitating injury. A week before we left, i flashed a 7a+.

You could make the argument that it’s a very different rock type to back home and you’d be correct, granite is a very different beast. It was when i climbed on granite in Ailefroide in 2005 and 2006, in Val Daone in 2010, in Squamish in 2011, in Zillertal in 2013, Magic Wood in 2012 and again in 2014 and on Dartmoor in 2012. That’s not to mention last year’s Great Swedish Bouldering Tour, mostly on, yup, granite.

I’ve also climbed hard while away. No less than two of my 7c ascents were abroad, as well as several 7b and 7b+ ticks. The point of this isn’t to blow my own trumpet, it is just to offer some evidence to the opinion that the vast majority of these climbs are at least two grades undergraded, compared to almost everywhere else i’ve been.

You could also make the fair point that we were there out of season, at the height of summer at the end of June and you’d be right too but again, bear in mind that all bar two of the places listed above were at exactly the same time of year. No, pure and simple, listen to me when i tell you, dear Irish climbers: your grading is just pure wrong.

It shouldn’t matter but the fact is it does. Grades are a measure of your ability, a way of selecting climbs that are at the level of difficulty that you want to try. When you get shut down on something you should theoretically be able to achieve, it is demoralising and can even put you off an area.

In many ways it was very similar as we trudged over to try Andy’s Aretess again at 7a+. The bottom section hadn’t proved too bad, just the top to finish off and complete. So after a few tries, i opted to try the stand, mainly to work the upper moves.

I’d snatched for the right hand hold on the arete but not held it and didn’t really know how bad it was to be. Again, based on the grade, i was expecting it to be a pretty decent hold that allowed me to readjust before slapping the top. When i caught it and found out it was worse than the previous hold, i was more than a little surprised. It took the entire rest of the session to get the stand start complete. The grade: 6c.

Now, this really did annoy me, i shouldn’t be struggling like this on a 6c and if it hadn’t been for the conversation with Ryan mentioned in my previous post, i’d be more than likely trudging back in a proper sulk, shocked at being utterly abject compared to my former self.

Now the stand was done, i was keen to finish it from the sit start, the beta wired, although by this point i was conscious of Em beginning to get a bit bored. I did try a few more times, with an eye to her perhaps trying some of the quality lines on the Big Jim boulder but when the spots of rain arrived, i thought the bad weather was gonna hit us and we packed up quick. The stand will have to wait and i’ll have to return. If i didn’t know better, it would be easy just not to bother.

And therein lies the problem for Ireland and the Irish bouldering scene. Couple this latest one with the two issues mentioned in my last post and you just can’t see Ireland becoming a major bouldering destination any time soon. And here was me saying i’m not going to rant… Oops.